Rise again
by vecus saravan
Summary: a member of a once forgotten clan visits Naruto with the proposal of joining their quest to reclaiming their position in the shinobi world. will Naruto accepted the chance to be with family, abandon his friends and create new goals or will he choose to stay in favor of his old friends and his long time dream of becoming hokage?
1. The proposal

**I apologize in advance for the grammatical errors**

**Disclaimer; I don't own Naruto, never will **

**Naruto is approached by a member of his supposed extinct clan and is offered a chance to join them in their quest to rise again and reclaim their place in the shinobi world, will he join them and curve out a new path for himself with new friends and new goals or will he reject their offer for his longtime dream of being hokage and saving his friend?**

**RISE AGAIN**

If someone told naruto that he would be brooding and contemplating things at night, he would have probably laughed so hard at that person. Him, brooding? Contemplating things? The idea was so alien to him that it actually made him snort with mild amusement.

Acting or behaving like Sasuke in a shape or form was not appealing to him at all, he was more of the "in the moment" kind of guy. If something needed to be done then he would do it, if something needed to be said then he would say it and then think about the consequences later.

Probably a good reason why a lot of people call him an idiot, a small smirk appeared on his lips at that thought. Just the sheer amount of people that have been pissed off with him for not 'thinking first' is quiet funny to think about.

And yet that's exactly what was happening right now, naruto uzumaki was currently sitting on a chair in the window of his apartment giving himself a clear view of konoha in the night. What's more, he was currently holding a bottle of sake from the land of the toads, he wasn't much of a drinker but every once in a while especially when he's feeling lonely, he would indulge himself.

What exactly was he brooding about? The past three years, from Sasuke's defection to the present; the good, the bad and everything in between. He could still remember the fight he and Sasuke had on the roof of the hospital, how ecstatic he was when Sasuke finally acknowledged his growing strength when he challenged him, but of course the bastard had to ruin it by trying to look down on him. He could still remember how betrayed he felt when Shikamaru told him that Sasuke has abandoned the village and sided with Orochimaru of all people. How heartbroken he felt when Sakura begged him, pleaded with him and made him promise to bring back her Sasuke-kun. Up to this day he could still vividly remember the fight he had with Sasuke at the valley of the end, how determined he was to bring Sasuke back and fulfill his promise and how equally determined Sasuke was to live the village in pursuit of his revenge.

"_what do you know about it anyway? How could you possibly understand me when you've never had anyone in the first place?!"_ the Uchiha's wordsregistered in his mind

Sasuke was right, he didn't know what it was like to have someone to call family, he didn't know what it was like to go home to someone, to have a place that feels like home. He had asked everyone; Kakashi, the third hokage, Jiraiya even Tsunade but apparently none of them knew anything about his parents, it's so depressing thinking that one just fell from the sky, no parents, guardians, grandparents or just anyone to claim him.

But that didn't matter right now, what mattered is that he lost, badly, as loath as he is to admit it Naruto knows that if it wasn't the kyubi, he would have died at least three times in that battle.

Anyway, fast forward to a few days later, he and that pervert of a sannin were leaving the hidden leaf for a training trip. He could still remember how excited he was at the possibility of getting a full on training from one of the strongest shinobi the hidden leaf had ever produced, all the jutsu he would learn, the awesome techniques that would be passed down from master to student and then some…

Oh disappointed he was

Jiraiya was always more interested in teaching him how to control the bijuu inside of him or working on the rasengan. After two and a half years nothing much had changed except maybe he's chakra capacity and the fact that he could create a bigger **rasengan**.

He was completely mind fucked by Itachi and he was practically useless against Deidera and yet he was credited with the victory against the Akatsuki.

Then came the Sasuke mission, what an utter disaster that was, an embarrassing one even, they were totally outclassed by Sasuke and what's worse, he wasn't even trying. If it wasn't for Orochimaru, of all fucking people, they would probably be dead from some powerful jutsu that Sasuke apparently created.

Then a few days later, Kakashi-sensei actually had the nerve to tell Naruto about the secrets of the **kage bushin jutsu, **ok, so he learnt the jutsu three freaking years ago and you tell him about its secrets now? He couldn't help but wonder if Kakashi would have waited that long if it was Sasuke.

Naruto shook his head in disapproval, that was just he's bitterness and jealousy talking. But still, he couldn't ignore the fact that kakashi, Jiraiya and even the Sandaime knew about this jutsu yet they never bothered to tell him anything, was he expected to learn about it himself? It's not like it would have taken more than 30 seconds to point it out to him, how stronger would he have been right now if someone cared enough to point out one simple fucking thing.

Seriously what's so hard about "_hey Naruto, did you know? The __**kage bushin **__allows the caster to retain the memories of the copies making it easier for one to learn jutsu, spy and do other useful things in a shorter amount of time than the normal"_

what was so fucking hard about that? Did these people really think that he had that much time to train and get stronger? He was being hunted down by S-ranked shinobi for fuck's sake, they are not going to wait for him to finally become strong before they made their move, Itachi's mind fuck already proved that.

Naruto looked at his hand, he didn't realize that he was holding the sake bottle so tight that cracks were forming on it, any more pressure to it and the bottle will no doubt break.

He shook his head again and took a huge slug of the sake, all this brooding is not taking him anywhere. Perhaps it was time to just go to bed and hope for a better day tomorrow, Kakashi promised to train him more about the shadow clone thing, Yippee, he was actually going to get training from someone who was already tasked with it ever since he became a gennin.

Naruto stood up from his chair and put the bottle on the table as he walked towards the bed

"yeah, turning in is definitely a good decision" he mumbled to himself

He was just about to climb on top of the bed when he heard someone say," Are you done already? I was just about to ask if I could join you."

The blond quickly turned around, creating a **kage bushin** and formed a **rasengan **before asking with a menacing glare,

"Who the hell are you?"

He allowed a small smile to appear on his lips, proud with his quick response to a possibly dangerous situation but the smile quickly dropped when he realized that this person, who they were, has probably watching him for a long time now and they could have easily killed him if they truly wanted to and he didn't even sense their movement.

Said person came out of the dark corner approaching naruto with their hands up as a sign of no hostility.

"Come down, I'm not an enemy"

"Oh yeah? Well, I'll be the judge of that. Who are you and what do you want?" Naruto snapped with the A-ranked jutsu still in hand

He heard the stranger give a despondent sigh and switched on the light

"Man you're in such an awful mood today, nothing quite like getting your ass handed to you by your teammate huh?" she said

Naruto scowled at that feeling his bad mood plummeting further but he had to force down a blush when he finally took a good look at the stranger; tall, maybe a few inches taller than him, light violet eyes, late-teens perhaps, small dimples and a figure to die for. she was wearing a black long sleeved shirt, black shinobi pants and boots and a long red coat to cover herself

But what really caught Naruto's attention was her hair, long waist length red hair that covered parts of her face.

"_she's prettier than Sakura" he thought to himself_

"Are you done checking me out?" the woman asked with a sly grin

"Wha… no… er… I mean yes… I mean… just answer the damn question lady who the hell are you?" he responded with venom his blush showing this time

Naruto scowled when the woman put her hand on her mouth to suppress her amused giggle

"ok, I'm sorry, just couldn't help myself. My name is Amina, Amina uzumaki, pleasure to officially meet you Naruto" she said offering her hand to naruto

"Uzu… maki? What kind of sick joke is this? What the hell do you mean you are Uzumaki?"

"I mean exactly what I said, I am Uzumaki just like you" she said a little bemused at the blonde's response

"Oh yeah? If you're an Uzumaki then how come I've never seen you before in the village?" Naruto said a little annoyed with the woman

Uzumaki? What the hell is that supposed to mean? are they related? If they are then how come he has never seen her before today?

"That's because am not from Konoha, I-

"Aha! I've got you now, the Sandaime gave me that name, are you honestly saying you are from a different village but you're conveniently named Uzumaki as well" Naruto said ready to attack the intruder who was looking at him as if he had grown a second head.

"you're joking right? You're seriously just yanking my chain right now, aren't you?" Amina asked but after seeing the jinchurikki not bothering to answer her, she frowned in disgust and mumbled something about betrayals and manipulatives bastards

"ok, so it seems to be as bad as Yuura said it was, you-

"who is Yuura?" Naruto quickly but was quickly faced with a disapproving glare and he actually had the decency to blush with embarrassment

"As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me, Uzumaki is a clan, one of the most powerful and most prestigious clans the shinobi world has ever known. In fact, we're the only clan in the world to have their own village and we were once allied to konoha" Amina said giving Naruto a brief history lesson and continued before he could ask the obvious question

"The reason you have not heard about it is because we were raided and sacked by the so-called powerful villages, our clan is well known for our life force, huge chakra reserves and prowess in fuinjutsu, the bigger villages were threatened by the fact that a single clan could challenge their power and render their precious bijuu useless. Their jealousy and hatred made them attack our village and destroy everything, our homes, buildings, families, ships, everything." She finished as she finally sat down on one of the chairs giving Naruto time to digest what she has just said

After a minute of silence, Naruto finally replied," Wait a minute, you just said that Konoha was allied to your village, then how come they didn't help you and how are you still alive?"

'_and here comes the hard part' _Amina thought herself

"I think you better sit down if you really want to hear the truth Naruto" she said but then rolled her eyes when she saw the jinchurikki not moving an inch

"Look, I think we've already established that I'm not here to attack, if I wanted to I would have done so already now come and sit down" she finished

Naruto looked at her for a couple of seconds before giving a deep sigh, she was probably right anyway so you wouldn't hurt to actually hear what she wanted to say, plus he was also curious to hear about his apparently fallen clan.

He dispelled his **rasengan **and sat on the chair that was directly opposite her

"alright I'm seated now talk"

"Good, now, since the beginning of the shinobi villages Senju and Uzumaki have always been close, some would say that we are sister clans, we were so close that after Hashirama Senju was selected to become hokage, he married the daughter of our clan head Mito Uzumaki and thus cemented our alliance with the village hidden in the leaf. The original terms were that the hidden leaf would protect us from the other villages and we would provide konoha with seals and jinchurikki. Obviously we did our part, konoha didn't" Amina explained

"wh… what do you mean 'you provided konoha with jinchurikki?'" Naruto asked trying to wrap his head around what he's just heard

"Naruto you are not the first jinchurikki of the kyubi, Mito was a jinchurikki and so was your mother Kushina"

Naruto looked at the redhead Uzumaki with wide eyes.

his mother?

His mother was a jinchurikki?

she knows his mother?

Seeing the current jinchurikki's expression, Amina couldn't help but frown, what kind of tight leash did they put on him in this village?

"By your expression, I take it you don't know who she is, do you?" she asked the blonde who didn't bother to respond

"Your mother, Kushina Uzumaki was a kunoichi of the whirlpools, her father, the clan head at the time, sent her here to be the new jinchurikki of the kyubi it was also during the time when Iwa, Kumo and Kiri were getting restless about our growing power. They banded together and attacked us, we waited from some assistance from Konoha but nothing came, not even a single shinobi" Amina said anger showing on her face

"H-How did you survive?" Naruto finally asked after a minute of silence

"Tunnels, Uzushiogakure was a small island surrounded by whirlpools, so beneath the buildings and infrastructure, they were underground tunnels that led to storages and hideouts that were protected by seals. When we were attacked all the children were sent there while the adults fought. We have lived in those hideouts ever since"

"I… I-I'm sorry to hear that" Naruto said as he showed some towards his guest

"Don't be, it won't change anything" Amina replied

"So, er what are you doing here?" he finally asked the question that has been bugging him

"When news got out that Konoha was attacked by the Kyubi, we knew that something bad had happened to Kushina-sama, father sent of our older members to come and confirm it. We found out that you were the only Uzumaki left in the village but we couldn't talk to you or even get to have any form of contact with you because you're kept under close surveillance, so father instructed Yuura, my older brother to keep a close on you" Amina said standing up, she took a few steps closer to Naruto and sat on the chair right next to him.

"We need you Naruto, our clan has suffered enough already, it's time we rose up again, it's time we reclaimed what's ours, it's time and we know that we cannot do it without you Naruto, we would like you to join us"

Naruto actually started in surprise at hearing that, he stood up abruptly from his chair causing to fall down

"The hell? I c-can't go with you" he said his face showing how shocked he was with the proposal

"And why not?" Amina challenged

"W-Well for one thing I barely know you and I'm a hidden leaf shinobi I mean at the end of the day this is my home so you just can't expect me to drop everything and just go with you to a place I barely know" Naruto reasoned

"Home? You think this is your home? Naruto we've been watching you since you were born, we saw everything that happened to you. This village… this village betrayed us, insults us and continuously mistreats you…you, the only living proof in this village that the Uzumaki clan existed"

"B-But I cannot just abandon my friends, I-

"Friends don't lie to friends Naruto; we don't try to kill the people we see as friends either. Naruto both your parents were well known and loved in this village, your father was seen as some untouchable god because of our fuinjutsu, they had many friends and what happened when they died?" Amina said with frustration

"You know my father?"

"Every clan head in this village knows your father, the whole world knows about him, Tsunade, Kakashi, Jiraiya, the third, they all knew your parents. They have been smiling at your face and yet they laugh at you when you turn around"

"Who is my father"

"Minato Namikaze, the yondaime"

_What._

_The._

_Fuck?!_

The tension was so palpable in the small apartment that Amina feared that someone would actually be alarmed and come to check what was going on, she knew that she was revealing too much to the jinchurikki in a short amount of time but at the moment it really didn't matter, if shit hits the fan she could easily wipe his memory of this conversation ever taking place

Her thoughts however were interrupted when she saw the Kyuubi's chakra leaking out of his body, a quick look at him was enough to inform her that she needed to act and fast

"**Fuin; suppression seal level 1**" a sealing array appeared from the ground and quickly surrounded him before completely suppressing his chakra

Amina kept the seal in place until she was completely sure that the blonde jinchurikki had regained his calm, it seemed so for about a few minutes but looking at his face one could tell that the thoughts circulating in his mind were anything but pure

"Look Naruto, I know that this is hard to hear but these people have continuously lied to you, Jiraiya your godfather abandoned you to the wolves and even he doesn't have the decency to tell you the truth, how many times did you ask the Sandaime about your parents? Kakashi, your father's favorite student preferred to watch from the sidelines as you suffered, even after you were given to him as a student he's attitude was indifferent at best. Sasuke, your so-called best friend was more than willing to kill you just for his revenge." Amina said taking a deep breath after her monologue, she shook her head and continued;

"I have no right to judge you or how you want to live your life but I have one question to ask you Naruto; Don't you think you deserve better than this, don't you think you deserve to live in a place where you're not judged or discriminated because of ignorance and misconceptions?

The hidden leaf keeps on preaching about the will of fire, about never turning your back on your comrades but look at yourself, these people turned their backs on you the minute Minato died."

Naruto turned his head to the window, watching the view of Konoha at night his hands formed into fists.

The more he thought about what Amina was telling her the angrier he got, so he was the son of the hokage huh? He would have never guessed.

The son of the freaking yondaime and the godson of the freaking Jiraiya the sannin

Life has a special way of fucking with him, doesn't it?

He remembered all those times he asked the third about his parents and how he would always rebuke him or change the subject. He asked them all; Jiraiya, kakashi, Tsunade and they lied to him.

What else have they lied to him, all of them, all the fucking clan heads knew who he was and yet they were more than happy to ignore him, they even told their kids to stay away from him.

What was he to them? A pet, a toy, a fucking WEAPON? They all manipulated him for their own fucking purposes and Jiraiya of all people was he's fucking godfather, he's supposed guardian.

His fury intensified at this thought, in fact it was now at a point where his hands were bleeding because of the elongated nails digging into his skin. Naruto knew that if it wasn't for seal currently suppressing his chakra, he would probably be in four-tails state by now, but at the moment he honestly didn't give a fuck, he has never felt as much hatred as he feels for the village at this point.

"look, obviously this conversation has given you a lot of things to think about, so I'm going to give you one week to think about our offer" Amina said taking Naruto out of his thoughts

She put her hand on his cheek and gave him a sincerer smile

"I really hope you accept Naruto, family needs to be with family and I swear to you that with us, I'll never be alone, ever" she said hen gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

The seals on his body started disappearing as Amina walked to the door

"oh… please don't tell anyone about this conversation" she said as she walked out and closed the door leaving the jinchurikki alone with his thoughts

The silence in the room was broken when Naruto suddenly grabbed the sake bottle from the table and threw it at a nearby mirror breaking it instantaneously.

"**FUCK!**"

**THE FOLLOWING DAY**

It's funny how one can easily change one's attitude to something in such a short amount of time after a few revealed secrets. Well, at the amount Naruto did not care a single bit about the irony of it all

Just yesterday, he was willing to risk it all for Konoha, his friends, his village and yet now he was wondering whether they were even worth the trouble. Yesterday's revelations had proven how two-faced and hypocritical people could be, just thinking about it dipped his already sour mood.

He had not slept a wink last night just thinking about all the bullshit he had to endure because of these people

Hokage's son

If it was anybody else, they would be treated like royalty right now but him, NOOO! Naruto Uzumaki has to earn their love and respect

Naruto had to force down the scowl from reaching his face when he spotted Kakashi and Yamato as he approached the designated training ground.

"Ah, you're finally here, I was wondering when you would finally show up" kakashi said no bothering to look up from his icha-icha novel

_How ironic_

"I'm sorry, I go lost on the path of life" Naruto replied with a sardonic tone

O_O

O_O

"Yeah, he's your student alright" Yamato muttered in an amused tone

"Uh, yes well, I guess when you're lost on the path of life all you can hope for is not to lose yourself eh, am glad you've not lost yourself Naruto" Kakashi said scratching the back of his head obviously feeling a bit embarrassed that Naruto has just called him out on his own bullshit

"What are we going to do today Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked a bit coldly trying to change the subject

"Well, we are going to use the **kage bushin **trick I told you about yesterday to start your elemental training, if all goes well your training will go much faster" Kakashi responded though he couldn't help but wonder what has gotten his wayward student in such a testy mood

Naruto's eye twitched at this response, he had begged Jiraiya countless times to teach him some elemental jutsu or at least just the basics of it but NOOOO!

_You have to learn how to control the Kyuubi's chakra first_

'how wasteful these 3 years has been' he thought bitterly

"I see, so why am I learning about elemental jutsu now?" he asked curiously

"Well, before you left Jiraiya-sama and I arranged to split your training, he would teach other things while I would teach you elemental training"

_Yeah because I sure learnt a lot from him these past 3 years, no wonder Sasuke left_

Naruto quickly shook his head to banish his darkening thoughts

"ok, there's no sense in standing around doing nothing, we might as well start"

**Later that day **

"Alright that's enough training for one day Naruto I think it's time we call it a day" Kakashi said

Naruto gave a brief look at the copy ninja and wordlessly dispelled his clones. He had just spent the whole trying to split a leaf with his chakra, the first step of learning how to control his wind element. Though his mood hasn't change he still couldn't contain the excitement of finally learning something useful after 3 years of little progress

He quickly said his goodbyes and started walking towards his apartment hoping that after a good long bath and some ramen, he would finally be in a better mood to think about everything he learnt yesterday and also the proposal he got.

Naruto's thoughts were however interrupted when he spotted Sakura standing close to a tree 20 meters away from him, she was looking at him with a small smile almost as if she has been waiting for him this whole time

"Hey Naruto, finally done for the day huh?" she said

"Yeah, I gotta be strong if wanna be hokage someday ya know" Naruto responded with a full blown fake grin on his face

"Great, so um the other teams were meeting up a restaurant so I came to invite you as well since you know… we never really hard time to fully welcome you with everything that has been happening lately" the pink haired kunoichi said

"Huh… er, I'm sorry Sakura-chan but today has been a very long day and I just want to go home rest ya know" Naruto responded feeling a little guilty for blowing his friends off

"Oh… er, I guess next time then" Sakura said/asked unable to keep the disappointment out of her tone

"Yeah, next time. Well I gotta go Sakura-chan see you tomorrow" Naruto said as he began to walk away from her

"Yeah… next time" Sakura muttered long after Naruto had already disappeared from her view

'_That wasn't anything like Naruto at all' _she thought to herself wondering what has put the jinchurikki in such a bad mood, she looked at Kakashi hoping to get some sort of clue but all he did was shrug

"Long day" he said though even he was asking himself the same question

**NARUTO'S APARTMENT**

He's apartment was… clean, no, it was actually spotless, everything was in place, the dishes were clean, the laundry done and supper was already prepared and set on the table.

As he looked around, Naruto couldn't help but with this really his apartment or not, his apartment has never been so clean before, even during the times he had a caretaker it wasn't this spotless.

He wondered who would do this for him but he quickly got his answered when he spotted a freshly showered Amina on a chair reading a book about fuinjutsu written by Jiraiya with a disapproving frown her face

"Er… hello?" the blonde said with a dumbfounded look

Amina looked up from the book and responded with a warm smile on her face

"Hi, welcome home Naruto-kun"

_Welcome home_

That's something he never thought he would ever hear, ever.

_Home_

He's heart warmed up when thought of that word, this was something he had always wanted in life, to belong somewhere, with someone.

The blonde Uzumaki couldn't help but wonder if this is how it would be like with the rest of the clan

Would he feel wanted? Needed? Accepted?

"You cleaned?" he asked feeling a bit embarrassed that that's the smartest thing he could say

_Of course she cleaned you idiot_

"Huh, yeah. I hope you don't mind but this place was really a mess so I figured why not, oh and I really that you are hungry because dinner is ready" the redhead replied

"Yeah, er… thanks" Naruto said with a blush obviously not used to having people do things for him

"No problem, besides do have any clothes that isn't orange or some food that isn't ramen? Seriously what kind of life do live?" Amina asked her smile now turned into a frown

"Ramen is food for the gods and Orange is an awesome color" the replied with his usual defiance as he sat down ready to start eating

"No they aren't, Ramen is an unhealthy food and orange is an easily identifiable color, you are nothing more than a walking target with such a ridiculous outfit

"Good, let them see me. It's no fun beating an enemy from the shadows"

"Tsk, back at home, you would get caned just for thinking that. Nobody would tolerate such nonsense" Amina quipped giving the blonde a pointed glare

"Would you… er, would you tell me about them? The other Uzumaki I mean" Naruto asked looking a little unsure of himself

Amina looked at Naruto with a surprised look obviously not expecting such a question from the jinchurikki, she shook her head and gave him a full blown smile

With his bad mood forgotten, the two Uzumaki spent the entire night talking their presumed extinct clan, the good, the bad and everything in between.

**END CHAPTER**

**Another one, hope you like it**

**SARAVAN OUT!**


	2. Thoughts and Contemplations

**DISCLAIMER: never have I ever owned the Naruto franchise, I belongs to Kishimoto-sensei. But**

***leans in to whisper in a creepy voice***

"**I'm planning to assassinate him"**

**THOUGHTS AND CONTEMPLATIONS**

They say that **comradery** is a sentiment of trust, a bond created by a shared goal or experiences and a **comrade** someone that you would die for, someone who you would trust with your life to protect you, your dreams and goals when push comes to shove.

For the village hidden in the leaves, comradery has and will be the cornerstone for all shinobi and it has always revolved around one thing;

**The Will of Fire**

A doctrine passed down from generation to generation, hokage to hokage, jounin to gennin, a code that was the very identity of all konoha shinobi.

Or at least… that's what they wanted the shinobi world to believe. In truth the hidden leaf was filled with nothing but hypocrites, they preached one thing yet practiced something else.

Uzushiogakure, once a so-called "friend" and the greatest "allies" of the mighty Konoha, gave everything to help Konoha survive the first great shinobi war. Supplies, seals, war ships, jinchurikki, even Uzu shinobi fought with the leaf despite not being a part of the war. They bleed and died, sacrificed their very existence for the land of Fire and how were they repaid?

Nothing

When three of the big five stepped on Uzu's front door ready to massacre the small village, Konoha decided to look the other way in order to ensure their own survival.

'So much for comradery' Naruto thought bitterly

Naruto did not doubt that he would easily lay down his life for the people with him, he knew that no matter what, he would never abandon them when they needed him most and he also tried to convince himself that no matter what, they would fight tooth and nail for him as well.

'That's what comradery should be about' his thoughts told him, yet there wasn't much conviction behind those words

He took a good look around the table eyeing each and every one of his 'friends'

'Friends huh?' he wondered

They also say that a '**friend**' is someone that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts you with all your insecurities, secrets, goals, ambitions, talents and something you know will never leave you even in your worst moments, they would be your 'home away from home'.

Or atleast that's what Jiraiya told him.

When he thought of that though, Naruto couldn't help but flinch as he looked around the table, all the members of the" konoha 11" were seated around him trading stories, drinking and laughing together.

The jinchurikki wasn't questioning their friendship, but considering everything he had learnt these past few days, he was honestly questioning everything he thought he knew.

All his life, he had the ridiculous notion that Konoha were the good guys, that they fought for what was just and right, that they would never betray their friends and the people loyal to them, the academy always made sure to tell it so, the third hokage Hiruzen never missed a chance to tell him about 'the will of fire', even kakashi tried to pass on the belief of teamwork, comradery, friendship and trust.

And he believed it

Looking back on it now, Naruto felt so stupid for being so blind, so… impressionable.

The blonde has always thought of himself as a strong-willed, free-spirited kind of guy who would craft his own path to walk on and who's beliefs would guide that path.

Little did he know that his life was already manipulated the day he was born, his father made him a jinchurikki knowing full well the implications of his actions, Hiruzen made sure that he was a loyal Konoha shinobi and now Jiraiya wanted to turn him into some long prophesied peace-seeker.

'how pathetic' Naruto thought of himself

"But why can't I have some sake like the rest of you?" a familiar voice asked bringing Naruto out of his thoughts

"You know why Lee-kun so stop insisting" Tenten answered sounding exasperated

"But Tenten-chan, I only want to take a sip-

"Enough Lee, you are not having any sake and that's the end of the discussion" she said with finality

'Atleast some things never change' Naruto thought with a small smile

A few hours ago, when he was done with his training for the day, Sakura had waited for him and insisted that they go meet up with their friends and celebrate his home coming and this time she had accepted no excuse of course so when they had finally reached the destination, the two members of team seven had already found all their 'friends' already gathered at a barbeque restaurant ready to welcome him back to the village after three long years.

In normal cases, Naruto always made sure to make himself the center of attention at these kinds of gatherings having been starved of any during his rather shity childhood but today… he just decided to blend in and observe hence he decided (read: Amina bought them for him and forced him) to wear a long sleeved light-blue shirt and black shinobi pants with no forehead protector. He was just about ready to protest the lack of orange in the clothing when she had countered saying that the 'blue shirt complimented the color of his eyes' bringing a blush to his face.

As he listened to the friendly banter going on between Sakura and Ino, he's thoughts brought him back to his earlier musings of friendship. Whatever beef the two kunoichi had earlier during their childhood, it seemed to be water under the bridge now making them best friends again.

Best friends.

He didn't realize it before but after a close inspection, Naruto saw that all his friends were seated next to their best friend. Ino was next to Sakura, Chouji next to Shikamaru, lee next to Neji, Kiba and Akamaru were next to Shino and Hinata who kept sending glances his way when she thought that he wasn't looking.

Best friends indeed.

'A friend is one who understands your past, believes in your future and accepts u for who you are. One who never gets in your way unless you're going down huh? well, my so-called best friend put a chidori through my chest and I was only trying to help the bastard' the blonde thought bitterly

"Eh… Naruto are you okay?" Sakura asked looking at him worriedly

"Huh? Er, yeah. Why'd you ask that Sakura-chan?" the blonde responded giving her a fake smile

The pinkett merely answered his question by pointing at the sake bottle he was holding that had now developed a crack on it due to the excessive pressure the blonde's grip was exerting.

"Um, just got lost in my own thoughts that's all" Naruto said rubbing the back of his neck with embarrassment

"Well well well, look at what we have here" Ino said giving an amused look

"Naruto-kun is actually thinking now and he got himself a cool new outfit too, those three years away did you some good after all" the platinum blonde Yamanaka said earning a glare from her fellow blonde which she skillfully ignored

She gave him a once over giving him the impression that she was analyzing his looks and comparing them to someone

'Probably some poor shmuck that was interested in her' he thought

After about 2 minutes of her blatant staring, the jinchurikki asked in a tone that came out ruder than he planned

"What?"

He was about to apologize for the foul tone but held his tongue when he saw the girl showing no signs of being offended

"So, I see that you've grown but have you grown up?" she asked in a serious tone that Naruto didn't remember associating with the Yamanaka

'What the hell?' he thought

He definitely didn't expect such a question, much less from her of all people

"I don't know, that's not for me to say." He said with a shrug, "Are you still shallow?" he countered

Instead of being angry, Ino just simply smirked showing that she was amused with his response

"Touché Uzumaki" she said with a smile

"Hey man, it's great to have you back. I bet you've learned a whole lot with Jiraiya-sama over the last three years huh" Kiba Inuzuka said with a grin finally getting into the conversation

Naruto snorted inwardly at that not wanting to reveal his displeasure at the results of his training trip to his friends

'Learnt a whole lot my ass'

"Yeah, I'm a lot stronger than I was" he said without the enthusiasm that usually accompanied his boasts

"Oh yeah? how about a rematch then?" the Inuzuka challenged

"Kiba is right Naruto-kun, let us reacquaint ourselves in our flames of youth with a friendly spar!" no prizes for guessing who said that

"Normally I wouldn't pay much attention to Lee's over-exuberance, but I must admit that even I would like a rematch Naruto-san" Neji said with a small smile

"How troublesome, though I will admit that I'm interested in seeing just how strong you've become Naruto" Shikamaru spoke with his usual lazy demeanor

"Guys, as much I would like hand you your asses on a plate, I'm really not in the mood for a spar" Naruto responded getting looks of bewilderment from his friends

'since when did Naruto back out from a challenge' some thought while Shika gave the blond a suspicious look

"What? I've been training tirelessly all day and not to mention that we came here to celebrate not fight" the jinchurikki said making everyone else look at him like he had grown a second head

"Awww, so you have grown up some after all" Ino said as she stood and messed with his hair in the manner with which a parent does when proud of their own child

Annoyed with her privacy invasion, Naruto quickly swatted her hand away

"Knock it off" he said

"Be that as it may, I still want to test myself against you Naruto-kun, perhaps tomorrow we shall have a battle to test our youth?" Lee said obviously excited to have the chance to fight someone who once beat his eternal rival

"Yeah, sure. Tomorrow perhaps" replied Naruto

In truth, he had more than enough energy and the will for a full-fledged battle, but he just wasn't sure how he would take being beaten twice in the same week by his friends. He could always handle getting beat by Sasuke but he truly felt that if the rest of Konoha 11 beat him as easily as Sasuke did then he really did have to question everything else he thought he knew about being a shinobi so he decided that he didn't want to know just where he's strength ranked among his friends.

'I guess Ero-sennin was right, sometimes ignorance is bliss' he thought whilst taking a sip from his sake bottle though the thoughts of Jiraiya did bring a frown to his face

Jiraiya of the sannin, the shinobi with the most completed missions in history, student of the third, teacher of the fourth Hokage, distinguished author and toad sage of mount Myoboku.

All those titles the man owned but at the moment the only one that came to Naruto was the one that filled him with so much anger that he could feel the Kyuubi's chakra stirring in his gut.

Jiraiya was his fucking godfather!

That man had actually looked his parents in the eye and promised that he would be there for him if his something happened to his them and what did he do when they died?

NOTHING! He stayed away pretending like nothing had happened.

Sure Naruto didn't expect Jiraiya to be with him every day of his life but would it have killed him to stop by and say a simple "Hi, how are you doing?"

Naruto remembered all those times in his childhood he felt so alone, so unwanted and hated that he actually contemplated suicide, yes there's only so hate much one person could take, much less a child.

Yet Jiraiya kept away from him throughout those awful years and when he did show, the bastard had the gall to pretend like he didn't even know him.

Come to think of it even Hiruzen, the only companion he had growing up, had an ulterior motive for being so close to him…

The third Hokage wanted to make sure that He grow loyal to Konoha.

The jinchurikki honestly wondered if leaving the village and everything in it all behind was right for him after all, maybe things would be better if he joined Amina and the rest of the Uzumaki.

Then again, he didn't know much of Amina and the Uzumaki, he didn't know if her story and offer was genuine. He really wanted to believe her, to trust her but as the last few days had shown, people were willing to do whatever it took, telling any number of lies as long as it got them whatever they wanted.

All these thoughts were breaking Naruto's heart, he felt so stupid, so conflicted, for the first time in his life Naruto truly felt lost.

The two options presented to him weren't all that appealing; on one side he could stay in the village he grew up in, the village that has hated him since the day he was born, surrounded by lying, manipulative bastards just so he could chase a dream that didn't seem all that great to him anymore and gain the love of people he was starting to feel didn't deserve his sacrifice.

And on the other hand, he could blindly put his trust in Amina and accept her proposal and go to a place he has never heard of, meet people he never knew existed and who he's not sure whether they meant him harm or not, whether he was walking into a trap or not.

'What should I do now?' he wondered as his eyes turned glassy with unshed tears

"I'm going to buy more drinks; Naruto can you please help me" Sakura said standing up

"Huh? Oh, yeah sure" Naruto replied as he stood up as well though instead of going to the counter to order more drinks, the kunoichi led him to a private booth sitting opposite each other

"What's up Sakura-chan, why did you bring me here" Naruto asked her curiously

"I could ask you the same question, what is wrong Naruto?" she countered her tone serious yet gentle

"I told you already, there's nothing wrong. I'm only tired that's all" the blonde said giving her his best fake smile, something that didn't seem to convince the kunoichi

"Enough with the acting already. I know you, in all these years that I've known you, I've never seen you so subdued, so sad, something is bothering you and I know it" she said

"Sakura I-

He was interrupted when Sakura raised her hand and gently wiped the tear that had fallen out of his left eye, the only proof that she has been watching him the entire night.

"Even though I didn't realize it when we were younger, you have always been there for me, you believed in me when even I didn't believe in myself. Let me do the same for you Naruto, I know there is something that's troubling you, I can see it in your eyes but I cannot help you if you won't talk to me Naruto, please" Sakura said as she intertwined their hands, the tone of her voice thick with desperation and concern that it actually surprised Naruto

At that moment he wanted to tell her, he really wanted to, but for some reason the words died on his throat, no matter how much he tried to ease the burden on himself, he just failed to open up.

'Is this how Sasuke felt he wondered' he wondered

At last, the words that came out of his mouth were; "Thank you Sakura-chan, I promise you that you'll be the first person I talk to when I feel ready to talk to about it alright"

"Naruto" the pinkett whispered

"I promise" Naruto said trying to ease her concern

Sakura looked him in the eye trying to discern the sincerity of his words, although after a minute or so she finally relented and gave him a smile

"Alright then, as long you know that we're all here for you" she said as she stood from the booth and started walking towards the counter

When they finally made it back to their friends, they found them arguing about something though Ino gave them a sly smile

"What took you guys so long? Did you have a make-out session somewhere?" she asked earning a glare from Hinata

"Tsk"

None of the two members of team 7 bothered to answer her so they just went back to their seat and resumed their normal discussions

**ABOUT THIRTY MINUTES LATER**

At last, the earlier tension he had been feeling left Naruto and he was finally able to relax, or maybe it was the alcohol in his system he didn't know but he was still grateful for it.

As the night wore on, they all traded stories with each other and Naruto finally told his friends some stories of his travels with Jiraiya. Though he tried to hide as much information about his training, he found that throughout the 3 years he had been away, he had amassed a lot of crazy adventures with the old perv.

Everything seemed to be going well finally, until…

"Hey guys! I just heard that you're having a get-together, are we not good enough to be invited huh? And here I was thinking that we're friends" Naruto heard someone say, he could not recognize the voice and when he turned to get a look at the person, he found that he didn't know the person either…

People actually, three of them, chunnin teenagers around his age, one girl and two boys and from their expressions seemed to know who he was, or rather… WHAT he was.

Their faces darkened when they got closer one of them giving Naruto a look of disgust

"Miko-kun! Toka-kun! Yuki-chan! So nice of you join us and finally meeting our good friend Naruto-kun. We do apologize for not inviting you, very un-youthful of us, Gai-sensei will be so disappointed." Lee said ending his sentence with a downcast expression though it didn't last long because he screamed out, "I know! I will make up for it by doing 1000 pushups, if I can't do that I'll do 2000-

"That's enough Lee geez and sit down before you spill the drinks" exclaimed an exasperated Tenten

"So are you going to ask us to join or what?" Miko asked with a smile, eyes straight at Ino who doing her best trying to ignore him

Miko, Toka and Yuki were the team 7 of Neji's class, a talented group of chunnin with an even more talented jounin sensei. Though just like Gai's team had failed their first chunin exams so too did this team 7. One year ago, they had decided to try again together with Konoha 11 and after that, they all seemed to hit it off and they have been friends since then.

"Sure, why not?" Neji said as the rest freed up space for them to sit

"So, what's the occasion?" Yuki said, she was a blonde kunoichi who seemed to have the hots for Neji something that greatly annoyed Tenten

"Not much we're just welcoming our friend back to the village after 3 long years in absence" Sakura responded

"Three good years" whispered Toka to his male teammate who was of the same view

"Hello Ino-chan, can I buy you a drink?" Miko stayed leaning close to the Yamanaka

"As you can see, I already have one" she responded

"AH yes I can see, but I'm talking about a real drink befitting of a woman such as yourself" the boy persisted clearly not taking the hint

"I've developed a taste for this one, thanks but no thanks" Ino replied hopping to end the conversation

"Alright, then I'll buy you another one when you are done with that one" he insisted

"Fine" the irritated Yamanaka replied earning an obnoxious grin from the black haired boy who was obviously happy with himself

'So he's the poor shmuck' Naruto thought with amusement, some people just didn't want to see the writing on the wall though he couldn't help but wonder if he was ever that pathetic

Sakura leaned in to his ear and whispered, "Remember when that was the two of us?" she asked with amusement in her tone

"Please tell me I was better than that" Naruto replied hoping for a favorable response but they weren't any such lack

"Oh please, most of the times I had to smack you to get you off my back" she said giggling

"Yeah well, I was too young and ignorant to get the massage" the blond said trying to defend himself

"Oh yeah, remember when you almost picked a fight with Shikamaru when you thought I was on a date with him?"

For the first time that week the blond actually laughed, he truly missed those days, everything was simpler during those times.

"Hey what's so funny?" Kiba asked eyeing them curiously

"Nothing, I was just remembering something that's all"

"We were talking about all those times we used to ask the people we had a crush on for dates" Sakura told everyone who joined the laughter except the older team 7

"Hey man, speaking of dates, I know a great place in town with so many girls it's basically paradise, I tried to convince Shino to go with me but you know, he's Shino. So how about you and I go there some time, it will be a blast I promise ya." The Inuzuka said giving Naruto a lecherous grin

"Like any girl would ever want him" Toka said in a low voice but everyone still heard

All of the sudden, the table got quiet as Sakura and Hinata glared at the teen

"Toka-kun, that was not a very youthful thing to say"

"Come on guys I was only joking, ya know" Toka said laughingly as he took a sip from his drink

"Yeah, perhaps the girls will not care so much about what he is" Miko said agreeing with his teammate/friend

The tension around the booth seemed to double as everyone stared at Naruto

Most of them were also interested in seeing how the blond would react to the news that they all knew what he was.

In truth, Sakura had found out from lady Tsunade less than six months after he left for training and Kakashi-sensei had confirmed it

A few days later, she broke the news to their friends, Sakura honestly couldn't how many times she cried herself to sleep thinking about everything her friend must have gone through. She remembered all those times she mistreated him, her friends insulted him even her parents told her to stay away from him. The more she thought about his childhood the more she hated herself for contributing to his pain, a few weeks later, lady Tsunade told her about the Akatsuki and the threat they posed to Naruto. She couldn't believe all the horrible things that surrounded the blond.

Since then, she swore to herself to always be there for him like she never has, Sakura vowed to never allow more misery and harm to accompany her friend as long as she lived.

"And just what am I?" Naruto asked the two boys, he knew the answer of course but just out of curiosity he wanted to know what they would say

"A demon" Yuki whispered though everybody else heard her

"Naruto-kun is not a demon, how dare you say that" Hinata said with a surprisingly murderous tone

"Oh please, I don't know how the hell he managed to fool every one of you, but the truth remains that no matter how nice he seems, or how many times he smiles at you he's still that beast that took everything from us, he-

SLAP!

Hinata didn't know what surprised her most, the fact that she was feeling such a deep sated anger or the fact that she had just bitch-slapped one of her 'friends' but at the moment she really didn't care. She grabbed the older teen by the scruff of her neck and pulled her closer to her, her Byakugan unconsciously activating

"I will only ever tell you this once, Naruto is not a demon, or a beast or anything you people want to call him, he's our friend, he's one of the greatest people you'll ever get to meet, he works hard and fights for friends, his dreams, his beliefs and he never gives up no matter how much the odds are stacked against him. I don't how you live with yourselves hating something for no good reason, ever since he became a ninja Naruto-kun has done nothing but fight for this village and you want to hate him for nothing" she said her face red with embarrassment

Hinata couldn't remember the last time she spoke so many words or the last time she ever expressed herself like this but right now it didn't matter, she wasn't going to allow anyone to disrespect her 'love' like that

'I wonder what you would say if you saw me like this father' she thought

"Tsk, why does everybody else say different, the village was much happier when he left, you guys are blinded because you've spent so much time with him" Miko said giving Naruto a look that said he was worse than trash

"No, we see the truth because we spend time with him" said Shikamaru not at all happy with where the conversation was going

" If you did too you would see what we see" Ino said

"I'll rather die than spend time with this thing"

"Why you little-

Sakura started but was interrupted by both Shikamaru and Naruto when it looked like she was just about ready to knock the boy out, Shikamaru kept her in place with his **shadow-possession jutsu **while Naruto stood up as he put a hand on her shoulder

"It's okay Sakura-chan, no need of fretting over it. Besides I was just about to leave anyway" he said

"What? You can't leave. They are the ones who should leave Naruto-

"I have to wake up early tomorrow for more training remember, perhaps we can go for lunch together and talk, eh?" the blonde said hoping the invite for lunch will change the topic, he really wasn't in the mood to deal with this today

"Tomorrow" he promised, "goodnight everybody "he finished as he left the restaurant.

Sakura tried to run after him but was stopped by Ino

"It's okay, we'll talk to him later, let's give him some space" she told her friend in a soothing tone

"But I- we can't just let him leave like that, he's our friend, we need to be there for him" Sakura protested her eyes becoming glassy

"I know, but we also need to give him some space" Ino replied as she hugged her friend

Meanwhile the rest of Konoha gave the older team 7 disapproving looks

"I think you better you leave" Hinata venomously told the three newcomers

"That was very un-youthful"

"I agree; it will be best if you left us" they said

"Tsk, whatever" the teens said as they also stood up and left

**WITH NARUTO**

He didn't know what to think now, he really didn't, as the night wore on he had forgotten all about his troubles as he spent time with his friends, he had smiled, laughed and shared stories with them. At that moment, he was truly happy until Kami decided to give him a harsh reality check.

And it came in full force

He didn't need reminding that a vast majority of the village hated him, he didn't need reminding that while a few people in the village cared about him most of them were happier when he's not around, he really didn't need reminding of who, or rather… what he was to these people

And yet, he got it.

Not for the first time that day Amina's proposal crossed his mind, he couldn't help but wonder how things would be for him if he decided to go with her.

Would he finally be happy?

Would he be accepted?

Would he finally have a family?

Maybe, but then again…

Could he leave his friends behind?

Could he let go of his goals, his dreams?

Could he break all his promises?

An exhausted sigh left him, thinking was just too damn troublesome

He missed those days he did things without thinking about it or the consequences. How he wished he was back in those glorious days he thought as he finally reached his apartment.

When he entered, he found Amina in his apartment again but it didn't bother him, what bothered him was the serious, troubled look on her face.

"We've got a problem" she said

"W-what problem? What is it?"

Her only response was pointing at his couch were a pale boy lay unconscious. He recognized the boy as Sai, the one who went with them for the Sasuke retrieval mission the previous week, but what was Sai doing here? He wondered though he never got the chance to voice his thoughts because Amina answered him

"I think he was sent here to spy on you and go through your things, I tried to interrogate him but the seal on his tongue keeps him from talking."

Before he asked another question she raised her hand and answered, "I can remove it yes, but it will take some time plus if it's not done right it will do some serious damage"

"Oh, I see, do you have any idea who could have sent him?" the jinchurikki asked though he already knew the answer

"No, but one thing is clear, someone within this village is after you and whoever they are, they're really dangerous" she said

**End Chapter**

**Only two scenes but I felt it was fine considering what I wanted to deliver, hopefully it came out right.**

**I have been a bit busy with college these past months but now I'm on holiday, hopefully I will write a few more chapters and also update my other stories.**

**Leave a review on your way out.**

**P.S: Recommendation**

**For those that love comedy, I really recommend "Fetish? What's a fetish?" by "Serac".**

**I promise you, you'll love it.**

**And if you love time travel fics with interesting twists then "Try not to fuck up the future, warning: Future gets fucked" by "Yojimbra" is your thing.**

**Also, can you please take a look at my other fics as well, thanks**

**Until next time!**

**SARAVAN OUT! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own bleach, I only use it for laundry and I'm terribly sorry for all the typos you might find.**

**Well, without further ado, ENJOY. **

Naruto sighed as he flipped through page after page of history books on the shinobi clans and the second great shinobi war. He has never liked libraries but he really wanted to know more about his apparently fabled clan and their destruction but to his disappointment, all the books talked about was what Amina had already told him.

There was nothing new, but apparently they did emphasis on the close relationship between Uzu and Konoha, even going in detail to explain why Konoha put the Uzumaki emblem on their uniforms and even built some temples to honor the lost clan.

All of this did make Naruto wonder just why Konoha didn't try to help Uzugakure in their time of need if they valued the clan so highly. This was something that he really needed to check into, there was so much that still remained hidden, Naruto could feel it in his bones.

He also wondered why the academy never taught them anything about 'the Uzumaki clan and their village', was that a deliberate move on Konoha's part? He didn't know. Then again, it was also possible that they did teach something about them and he just wasn't paying attention, he was never a good student after all. But if they did, it would have been common knowledge in the village that he belonged to a clan and tracing his parentage would have become easier to do.

He took out another book and flipped through more pages but all he found was a detailed description of the battles Konoha had against Kumo and Iwa throughout the second shinobi war.

'This isn't taking me anywhere' the blonde decided putting all the books back on the shelves before walking out of the library, skillfully ignoring the receptionist as he passed through the door.

'You're not the first, lady…' he thought recognizing the cold look in her eyes. She wasn't glaring at him outright, but he would never miss the hate and disgust in her eyes.

If these people weren't held back by the third hokage's law, they would have surely tried to burn him or perform some kind of exorcism on him by now. Thinking of people that wanted to hurt him, the blonde couldn't help but frown as he thought about his new teammate…

Sai

** Flashback**

"_So… what are we going to do to him?" he asked Amina looking directly at the unconscious pale teenager on his couch._

"_I don't know. That depends solely on you" Amina responded as she opened the root agent's mouth to further inspect the seal on his tongue._

"_Well, what options do I have? "Naruto asked again not knowing what to do._

_He has never held a captive in his entire life, much less one from his own village so it was quiet clear how clueless he was with dealing with these kind of situations. But one thing was clear though, freeing Sai was out of the question, the boy already knew too much._

"_Well… I could remove the seal on him and make him talk about who sent him but like I said before, this seal is connected to his chakra pathways so removing it recklessly could have some nasty consequences for his health." She said taking off Sai's shirt to inspect if he had any other seals on him._

"_Another option is that I could erase his memories of tonight but it could also raise some suspicions if whoever sent him finds out that he cannot remember anything from his mission" Amina flipped him gently making Sai lay on his stomach as she inspected his back while Naruto simply watched on with interest._

"_But I think the best option is to put a counter-seal on top of the one in his mouth and control his movements from now on" she said as she took off his black pants leaving Sai in only boxers. She was about to remove those ones as well before Naruto abruptly stood up holding Amina's arms and gently pushed her away from Sai with a big blush donning his face all the while._

"_Whoa, whoa… I think we have established that he has no other seals on his body" the blond said standing between the unconscious Sai and the privacy-invading redhead Uzumaki._

"_How would you know?" she countered_

"_I'm pretty sure no one is insane enough to put a seal on their balls alright" he responded though he couldn't really help but wonder, are there?_

_It seemed that was Amina's thoughts as well because she outright laughed at his response clutching her stomach in the process._

"_Man, I really can't wait for you to meet some of our clan members Naruto-kun" she laughed harder when she saw he's baffled look._

_Eventually he did smile as well, despite the fact that he had yet to come to a decision, he could still admit that he was really interested to meet the rest of his clan._

"_So… how does the counter-seal work anyway?"_

"_Well, since he has already seen me, it's quiet obvious that he'll tell whosoever has sent him but with the counter-seal we control what he reports and we could also gain an ally, albeit a puppet"_

"_Wait a minute… what do you mean 'puppet'?" that word did not sit right with him, it felt like something Orochimaru would do._

"_We're not going to micromanage everything he does Naruto-kun, the seal is going to activate when your life is threatened and he'll be forced to tell you that's all" Amina responded folding her hands across her bust._

"_Oh… and a single seal can do all this?" Naruto asked curiously though he had a good idea of what the answer was._

_Amina simply sighed disappointedly giving him a sad smile, "You have really been cheated you know that?" she said as she took out a scroll and a small paint brush and started drawing symbols. "Yes, Naruto-kun. A single seal can do that and you can do much much more if you're really good at fuinjutsu"_

** End Flashback**

She was right, he really was cheated none of his teachers have ever talked to him about fuinjutsu or even hinted at it and what was worse was that both of them had a respectable level of mastery over the sealing arts.

He was taken out of his thoughts when he reached his destination, he entered the Yamanaka flower shop quietly hoping not to arouse any attention but was forced to bite back a curse when heard the doorbell sound off signaling his entrance.

He was about to turn around and walk out but then realized that there was no other customer in the store but the store owner, a blonde woman who looked at be in her late thirties-early forties.

'That must be Ino's mom' he thought though still didn't move any closer, he had never met the woman before but it was also no secret that he's friends' parents had told their children to stay away from him so he wanted to see how she would react to his presence in her shop before saying anything.

Said woman seemed to be engrossed in some magazine but then did look up to him when she heard the bell ring.

"Welcome to the Yamanaka flower shop. How can I help you?" she said immediately with a welcoming smile on her face.

For a brief moment, Naruto found that he had no idea what to do or say so kept still for moment.

Seeing her customer unresponsiveness, the woman got a bit worried but then got up from her stool and went around the counter to encourage him in, of course she knew who and what he was but if her daughter and husband's stories about him were true then she had no problem with him whatsoever, perhaps he was standing there because he thought she would chase her out.

"Well come on in Naruto-kun, don't be shy" she said as she put her hand across his as she led him into the store.

"You know me?" Naruto asked but immediately felt like slapping himself once he asked the question.

'_Of course she knows you, idiot, who doesn't know you in this damned village_'

"Why of course I do. So, how can I help you dear?"

"…uh… I wanted to buy some flowers" he responded a bit meekly not used to being so warmly welcomed in any Konoha store other than Ichiraku.

"Really? I thought you were here to ask for Ino's hand in marriage" the woman responded with a tease giving him a sly smile.

"What? I… what?"

The blond woman giggled as she gave the blushing teenage boy a light a slap on the back.

"I'm only kidding Naruto-kun, seriously though you really need to lighten up. So tell me, what kind of flowers do you want?"

"Well I, uh…

"Mom, I'm going to the hospital, my shift is up!" they heard familiar voice shout as the person approached the flower shop.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" Ino stopped in her tracks when she spotted the blonde.

"He's come to buy some flowers dear. You know what, maybe you should tend to him before you go since he seems to be rather shy with me"

_No she shouldn't._

"Sure thing mom" with that, the older gave him a smile as she went back around the counter to her magazine leaving the jinchurikki with her now smirking daughter.

_Great._

"So, who are the flowers for?" she asked with that damnable smirk of hers still plastered on her face. "Sakura?" she whispered.

"There are not for Sakura" Naruto responded all too quickly

"Really who are they for then?"

_None of your damned business_

He was really tempted to say that he had bought them for her just to see how she would react but then thought better of it.

"They're for the third hokage and another dead friend of mine" Naruto lied smoothly, he was actually buying the flowers for his mother and father but she didn't need to know that.

"Oh…" Ino simply said a bit shocked that Naruto would buy flowers for the dead kage, then again, she did notice that he was closer to the old man than any of her friends so perhaps it shouldn't be so surprising.

She cleared her throat before speaking, "Okay, so what kind of flowers would you like?"

"I don't know; I was hoping perhaps you would pick out the best flowers to put on their graves"

Ino gave him a happy smile at that, talking about flowers was one her favorite things to do. She grabbed Naruto's hand and took him to where all the flowers were found, showing him different types of flowers and their meanings. She showed him the Hydrangea which apparently symbolized 'honesty, gratitude, amends and understanding', the Red rose which symbolized 'love and affection', the orchid, the sunflower, yellow roses and many more. By the end of it Naruto felt rater overwhelmed with the variety of flowers available, all he wanted was to buy some special flowers for his but now he felt like he was a chunin exam test.

Seeing the confused look on Naruto's face, Ino took out some orchids, yellow and roses and gave it to him in two separate bouquets.

"Thanks" he said as he paid for the flowers, he gave a thankful nod to Ino's mother who waved back at him before walking out but then realized that Ino was walking right beside him.

"Your mom seems a like good person" he said making some idle chit-chat.

"Mmh… You're just lucky she likes you, otherwise you've been saying something different right now" Ino responded with a shrug

"Likes me? What have I done to deserve her 'liking of me'?" he asked curiously

"Well… a lot of the times when teenage guys come into our shop its usually because most of them are trying to hit on me, I mean admittedly it was amusing at first but now it's just annoying. And since you genially wanted to buy flowers with no ulterior motives, you've officially earned yourself a 'like' in mom's book" Ino responded offhandedly

"I see…so she likes me because I'm not trying to date you huh?" Naruto said finding himself amused with the situation.

Ino looked at him with a pouty face answering, "I don't know how to feel about that you know. And no, asking me out on a date is not the problem, but what most guys want from me on those 'dates' is"

She decided to elaborate further when he gave her a scrunched up his face giving her a confused look

"When you look at me, what kind of impression do you get from my personality and the way I dress?"

He had to stop walking to fully think about what her question, to him she wasn't much different from most girls he knew. Her dressing was normal, well, as normal as it could be for a kunoichi. Sure she exposed her midriff and her top was more of a pushup bra than an actual top but it was nothing over the top. In fact, it showed him that she was quiet confident with who she was and how she looked. Her personality had nothing stood out or seemed out of place, she was cute, confident, a bit bossy, competitive and a bit of a tease.

"Uh well… I think you're confident with who are and it reflects to your appearance as well" he finally responded truthfully and got smile from her.

"Thanks but unfortunately, a lot of dumbasses out there take my teasing and dressing to mean that I'm some slut who's ready to get hot and heavy with whatever cute guy that flashes his teeth at me or maybe some prize that he can show off to his friends like a damned trophy" the Yamanaka said with annoyance dripping in her tone

"Huh" was all Naruto could say, he would have never guessed. And a part of him could also admit that he had once imagined himself in a rather suggestive position with his fellow blonde. Men were all the same after all.

"I'm guessing that Miko from last night is one of your admirers then" he tried to suppress a scowl, he really didn't want to remember anything from last night because he knew that it would further remind him of he's rather undesirable situation in the village.

"Urgh… honestly don't get me started on that one." The Yamanaka put her hands on her temple almost like she was trying to resist an incoming migraine. "That fool is this close to becoming a stalker"

Despite himself, Naruto actually laughed causing an irritated look from the Yamanaka

"What the hell is so funny?" she asked hotly

"Nothing really, it's just… now you know how Sasuke must have felt all those years ago huh" he said to which Ino blushed with embrassement.

"What? I wasn't that bad… Was I?" the question only seemed to make him laugh harder as he remembered all those times Sasuke had to carefully plan his route home just to avoid his obsessed fan-girls.

Ino playfully punched him in the shoulder with a scowl on her face, "Sure you're the one to laugh. Last I checked you were going after Sakura like a dog in heat"

That got him to shut up. She gave him a victorious smirk when he looked away with a blush of his own.

_Yeah, choke on that Uzumaki._

Though she would never admit it out loud, Ino had often wondered what it was about Sakura that made Naruto, hell even Lee constantly go after her, over and over again, knowing that it would end in failure every time or even get a beating for his troubles.

That had slightly contributed to her insecurities causing her to do stupid things like going on diets. Of course she had admirers of her own, but none of them were ever as dedicated as the blonde Uzumaki was to Sakura and most of them were just lousy perverts.

"Okay, but that was a long time ago and we were quiet young"

_And really really stupid._

"Hmm… Well then, lets agree to never speak of that period again Uzumaki" she stopped walking, took one of the bouquets from his right hand and extended hers towards him. "… Young and stupid…"

Well they were still young and a lot of people would say that he was still stupid but hey, what the hell

"Young and Stupid" he agreed shaking her in the process.

The continued walking in comfortable silence until Naruto noticed that His fellow blonde was still looking at him.

"What?"

"I like your new wardrobe, it really suits you unlike that hideous attire that made you look like a ripe carrot"

Ino complimented him but he still couldn't help but scowl at everybody's distain for his normal clothing, it didn't matter what anybody else thought though, Orange was an awesome color and his jumpsuit suited him just fine. The only reason he was even wearing different clothing now was because Amina had given them to him as a gift and she had also threatened to burn his orange jumpsuits if he doesn't give them a rest.

He had a different fashion sense than everyone else, what was the big deal about it? Anyways, he decided that wearing different clothes when he was in the village would not matter but on mission he would definitely go back to his favorite color.

And thus he was in the black shinobi pants and the light blue long sleeved shirt that apparently complimented his 'eyes'.

"Thanks… I guess. So, you're a medic now huh?"

That was honestly the biggest surprising change he had found so far, he would have never imagined the Yamanaka as a medic, sure he knew from her rather embarrassing fight with Sakura three years ago that she wasn't much of a fighter but he would have expected her to just train harder or train as an interrogator like her father, but to change course and go the medical route, he honestly didn't see that coming.

Then again, kakashi had always praised Sakura's perfect chakra control and stated countless times that she would make for an excellent genjutsu type shinobi but she also switched to medical ninjutsu, all of this proved to Naruto just how little he knew his friends.

"Yeah, quiet interesting huh, even I couldn't picture myself as a medic but you know how life goes. Besides, I couldn't just stand by and do nothing while forehead was busy saving people you know" she responded, he could sense the pride she had at her decision in her tone.

"Do you like working there?" Naruto asked generally curious.

"The hospital? Yes, I do. I mean, it's not always the best. There are some days that can get really hectic and even...emotional, but for the most part, it's pretty humbling."

"I see." He paused. He appeared to be debating something and then added: "What do you mean emotional?"

Ino's eyes widened slightly, and she could feel a pleasant tug on her lips. He wanted to know more. He wanted to hear more about her. There was something so pure and simple about that. It made her understand just how quickly she judged the uzumaki in her younger years.

He wasn't loud and overbearing because he wanted to, the world around him made him like that, talking with friends or anyone who was willing was the only way he would feel less lonely.

Unlike any of her friends, he didn't have anyone to confide in or who someone who would hold his hand and tell him that everything was going to be alright during his childhood but that still doesn't stop him from lending a sympathetic ear to a friend and giving them encouragement when they needed it.

"Well, sometimes," she started, "you get a patient that you sympathize with. Like a child or a mother or someone you feel doesn't deserve to be there."

"Could you give me an example?" he inquired politely.

Ino studied his expression. His eyebrows were low, and his tone was sincere. Her trusting nature was slipping in, unheeded and burdened with worn practice.

"There was a little girl once," she said. "She had suffered a terrible head injury. Normally, another specialist would have handled this case, but we were short-staffed that night and I had just been officially cleared by lady Tsunade to be a full-fledged medic." Ino felt her stomach flip a little at the memory.

"Sakura and I spent hours operating on her. She was in critical condition for too long before she had even been brought to us and from a medical point-of-view, there was a very low chance of survival from the beginning. But We didn't really care about statistical advantage back then."

"Of course," Naruto commented tenderly.

Ino smiled sadly, thankful for his attention. "We just kept thinking about how grateful that little girl would feel if we succeeded. We mean, even if she didn't know it, she was putting all her trust in the two of us. If we could save her life, then she would see us as her savior. That thought kept us going, really going, I think. I probably wouldn't have accomplished as much as I did if it wasn't for that thought...yet…"

She paused and remained quiet for a while. Naruto seemed to want to say something, but the uncertainty in her eyes must have kept him silent.

After finding the comfort level dropped too much for her not to continue, Ino said: "But it wasn't enough."

A few minutes past in silence before Naruto finally spoke, "I'm sorry"

Ino averted her eyes from him and fixed them to the ground, this was the first time she had told anyone that story, not even her mother knew of her shame. "It's okay. I'm fine now so…"

It was then that Naruto's eyes softened, and he shook his head unhappily. "I don't believe you," he remarked.

Her focus darted back to him in a frenzied manner, she wanted to feel angered by his claim—to act as if it was asinine and not worth considering at all. Yet all she could manage to say was: "What?"

"I don't believe you," he repeated. "It's all over your face, Ino. Did you know you looked so sad?"

Ino widened her eyes at that. She obviously had not expected to be called on her lie so easily. This was all new to her, her mother was a therapist and her father an interrogator, but she has never felt this open before, she could easily keep secrets from anyone but all the sudden it felt like all her problems laid bare in front of him, that no matter how much she tried he could see those dark emotions that she wanted to hide. She couldn't stand that. She didn't want people to see all that, especially him, especially a person who's was much much worse than her own petty problems but still didn't break.

"I...I wasn't aware," she eventually replied.

Ino rubbed her shoulder gingerly. "I don't see how that matters anyway. I'm just complaining, of course." She feigned a laugh. "It's not like my problems are anything like yours were. You were actually isolated and scorned by everybody." Her tone carried some shame and deep regret in it.

Naruto frowned. "That's my point, Ino; you're belittling it." He really didn't want to think about his childhood right now, especially after the bullshit week he's been having.

Her eyes widened. "What? No, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to. I'm saying the opposite. You went through something far worse than I am—"

"No, it wasn't," he stated firmly. "You can't compare it. My pain is my own and it's nothing like yours, but that doesn't mean it's any less important. It's very important."

Ino was perplexed. She hadn't heard a claim like this before. From what Sakura had told her, Naruto's childhood had been such a very miserable affair that she clearly understood that she couldn't possibly relate to it. But now he was saying that was somehow good—that her pain really did matter, even if it may have seemed trivial in the grand scheme of things.

As Ino was caught in her stupor, Naruto leaned forward. "You don't have to pretend it doesn't hurt, you know. I found that to matter a lot in the past."

Ino's eyes brightened as she gathered what he was saying. "How so?"

Naruto stopped walking for a bit, as if collecting his words was a challenge. "Well, the more I tried to hide my feelings of loneliness and anger as a kid, the more I felt as if I was distancing myself. But the fact was that I had been so angry, and I was for a long time, still am. But I had to take a deep look at myself to realize what I had been doing, and that was when I saw everything for what it was. I had left that part unchecked, and it had felt abandoned, even now I can honestly say that I still do it sometimes, perhaps as a defense mechanism or for something else… I don't know" A thoughtful and genuine smile spread throughout his lips. "So now I try not hide anything from myself, if I'm upset or mad, then I don't deny it to myself. And that's made a lot of difference, really."

He put his free hand on her and gave her a comforting squeeze. "I guess what I'm trying to say is… you should stop denying it, too, Ino. Don't pretend or run from your own feelings anymore, that is what makes us who we are after all"

Ino was left speechless by Naruto's words, this was a side of him she had never seen before. Sure Sakura had told her some stories but it was quiet different seeing it for yourself. Ino had honestly expected an 'everything will be alright' kind of speech but this… she felt a little overwhelmed to tell the truth but more than that, she was happy to have a friend like him, someone who didn't brush off and disregard another person's pain no matter how little or insignificant it was.

She gave him a genuinely happy and thankful smile saying, "Thank you Naruto-kun, really, you have no idea just how much I appreciate that"

"It's okay, happy I could be of help" the Uzumaki replied with a small blush adorning his cheeks. He hadn't really paid much attention to it, but the Yamanaka was quiet beautiful.

The two continued walking in comfortable silence for a couple of minutes but the Yamanaka spoke, "Damn, who would have thought you could be so deep. You really have grown a lot eh"

Her tone was teasing but he wondered how she would react if he said 'he could go even deeper if she allowed him'.

_Jiraiya vibes._

"Well, it was bound to happen. Besides I hear some girls like guys who are like that" he chose to say instead finishing his sentence with a smirk of his own

"They do, especially warm yet mysterious boys with intriguing personalities. Yep a lot of girls would most definitely fall for that" she said with an emphasizing nod

"Mysterious and intriguing eh?" Naruto said adorning a contemplative look on his face, "I guess I'll have to work on that"

"Don't worry about it, some girls would say 'you're perfect just the way you are', in fact, they would even prove it to you if it wasn't for the fact that this was a public place" Ino whispered standing so close to him that he easily smell her scent.

Seeing his entire face practically pink brought a giggle out of Ino, the Uzumaki was just too easy.

"Anyways, it's been fun talking to you Uzumaki but I have to break off now" she said pointing at the Konoha hospital at the side of the road.

Right.

He had almost forgotten that they had different destinations, he took back the bouquet and gave her a smile. Despite his earlier thoughts of the Yamanaka he found her to be quiet fun to be around.

"Cool, good luck on your shift"

"Thanks" she said about to turn towards the hospital but then stopped and looked back at him, "Oh and Naruto…"

"Hmm"

"I know you and I weren't really close friends when we were young and I do shamefully admit that I didn't really treat you well at all… I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry" she said sincerely with a small bow.

It caught Naruto so off guarded that even he was momentarily rendered speechless. Never had ever pictured any one apologizing to him for their earlier attitude towards him, much less Ino Yamanaka of all people.

While it was true that they weren't really close in their earlier years, the blonde didn't deem it necessary to care much about what the Yamanaka's attitude towards him as she was in the same group of children who were told to stay away from him by their parents.

But to hear her lament and apologize to him was just surreal for him. For a moment he wondered if he was slowly but surely getting through to the people of the village but he shook those thoughts away as soon as they came.

"Uh… don't worry about it Ino, that's water under the bridge now." Naruto sincerely said with a small smile.

"Great, then how about we start over…" Ino said with a happy smile, she cleared her throat and continued, "Hi I'm Ino Yamanaka and I would really like to be your friend"

"Eh, I'm Naruto and I accept your friendship" he responded with a smile of his own.

"Excellent. Well Naruto, as much as I would like to stay and chat with you I'm afraid duty calls now, but if you wouldn't mind, I would like to hang out with you one of these days"

"I would like that as well; we'll make time"

"Well then…" she lightly punched him on his shoulder and gave him a teasing smile, "until next time Uzumaki."

And with that, she turn around and hurried off for her shift.

As he watched her leave, Naruto's earlier dilemma resurfaced in his mind.

It reminded him of what he'll be leaving behind if he chose to go with Amina; his friends, his dreams, his village.

Despite the fact that things were not going really well at this moment, Naruto has always been a strong believer of 'a light at the end of the tunnel'. He wanted to believe that with enough hard work and perseverance things would always work out in the end.

But a realistic part was really questioning those beliefs; what will he have to do for this village to finally accept him? How long that take? Will they ever allow him to be happy and maybe have a family of his own or will they treat his children the same way they treat him? What about his long lost clan? Ever since he was born he has always dreamt of belonging to a family, a place where he didn't feel out of place or unwanted, a place he could call home.

And that was exactly what Amina was offering to him now only he would have to leave behind everything he knew to get it.

With a deep sigh, the blonde Uzumaki continued on his way, it didn't take long before he reached his destination.

The Konoha cemetery.

It didn't take long for the blonde to find the tombstone he was looking for. There it was… it was one of the biggest, if not the biggest tombstone in the cemetery, placed next to four others just like it, the name inscribed on it made him feel proud and the title below it even more so.

**Minato Namikaze, the fourth hokage.**

He had so much to say and yet as he opened his mouth, no words came out. He had been shook to the core when he found out who his parents where and truth be told, he still was.

This man was everything Naruto ever wanted to be in life; a war-hero, hokage, genius legendary shinobi and the most loved and respected person throughout the entire village.

And as it turned out, this man was he's own father. How ironic that he idolized he's own father and didn't even know it.

"Hi father" he said awkwardly.

"I don't know if you know me but… I'm Naruto Uzumaki, your son. I… I would have loved to have a chance to speak with You ya know, even just one chance. I have so much to say to both you and mom."

A small bitter laugh came out of him.

He had searched the entire cemetery for a tombstone that read 'Kushina Uzumaki" but there wasn't any.

The blonde felt annoyed that despite all she did for this village; she wasn't even honored with a bloody tombstone. I mean, sure he understood that if people saw her Uzumaki surname they would have easily linked her to him and since a good number of people knew that she was married to Minato, they would have easily discovered who really he was.

But still, it didn't make him feel any better, all records of Kushina were removed from history as if she never even existed.

"Speaking of mom, it turns out her clan is not really extinct after all, they survived the war. Now they want to reclaim their home and their place in the place in the world back and they want me to help them"

Silence was his answer, not that he expected anything more.

"I would love nothing more than to help them, to be with them. Can you imagine? My own clan, my family. But I just…"

Naruto bit his lip so that he felt a bit of blood coming out, he didn't ask for any of this shit.

With a deep sigh, the blond run his hands.

"I really wish either one of you was alive right now, I could really use some guidance here."

I would never dare talk about this with either his friends or even his teacher, he didn't need to be genius to know that their advice would only be biased. He wouldn't even dare let it slip especially at a time like this when it seemed like all his friends were somehow keeping an eye on him.

"This is all very confusing to me ya know" he said to the silent grave, at this point he was hoping for anything, any sign that that he's parents were listening, any sign of some genuine advice, but obviously none ever came.

After another tired sigh, the uzumaki sat down in front of the grave and placed his hand on where his father's name was engraved.

"I'm sorry… here I am putting all my problems on you without even properly introducing myself" he said with a sad smile

"So, like I said and as you probably already know, I'm your son and it's been over 16 years since my birth and your death. From the pictures I've seen, it seems I also inherited your looks but I can't say the same about the talent. I mean, the history books say you were one of the most talented shinobi ever, hell you won an entire war by yourself. I, on the other hand barely even managed to pass the damn graduation test at the academy." He gave a mirthless chuckle at that.

"Anyway, as you probably remember, you turned me into a jinchurikki the day of my birth and that has royally fucked me up so now I just want you to know that if we should ever meet under any circumstances, I'm going to slug you for that. I mean, you trusted Jiraiya of all people to look after me, he can barely look after himself. He's a drunk irresponsible pervert who is yet to even tell me that he's my godfather and the way things are looking now, it seems like he would rather die than ever have the guts to look me in the eye and tell me that he'd rather chase after whores than…"

No, this wasn't taking him anywhere. He quickly took a couple of breaths in the hopes of calming himself down.

"As I was saying, my childhood wasn't really ideal or even a happy one but I still meet some good people, like Ichiraku-san and his daughter Ayame" a small smile came upon his lips when he thought of those two, he couldn't even imagine what he's life would be like if they had never been so kind to him.

" You know, I can still remember the first time I met them…

** LATER THAT NIGHT**

Naruto was leisurely walking back as he reflected on his day, it seemed reminiscing and contemplations were now his new hobbies. He was so lost in thought that he didn't even register the presence of another person in front of his apartment until she called out to him effectively startling him out of his wits.

"Hello Naruto-kun"

It took a couple of seconds for the blonde to fully register who was talking to him.

A dark-blue haired kunoichi with lavender eyes wearing a loose fitting, lavender and cream hooded jacket, navy blue pants and black, low heeled scandals.

"Eh… hello Hinata" he responded awkwardly

To say she was the last person he ever expected to be at his front door would be an understatement. Even more peculiar was the time at which she was there, this was well past 9pm.

Well, maybe she was here because they had a mission?

"Do we have a mission" he immediately voiced his thoughts.

"No, I… I just wanted to talk to you, I hope you don't mind. Considering the time." She replied

"Not at all" the blonde replied briskly, taking out his keys from his pockets and opening the door to his apartment.

He hesitated a bit in fear that Amina might be inside, though after a quick survey he let out a small sigh of relief when he didn't find any trace of her chakra or presence in the apartment. He guessed maybe she was at her own apartment or maybe she sensed Hinata's presence and quickly shunshined herself away.

'Thank goodness for that, otherwise it would have been one hell of a rather awkward conversation' he thought mildly before letting her in.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Just some tea please" Hinata said.

"Coming right up," Naruto said pulling the kettle out.

When it was ready he handed her a cup sitting next to her on his modest couch. Hinata stared into the tea for a while and Naruto gave her the time to think. Finally, he asked, "Why did you come here? Eh, I mean… not that you're not welcome here or anything, it's just a little surprising considering you and I rarely talk"

She slightly winced at that but didn't say anything to dispute his claim.

"Well, I came to personally welcome you back to the village, with everything I didn't have a proper chance" she said with a shy smile at him.

She might not be as confident as she wanted to be, she was really trying.

She really was.

"Thanks Hinata, I really appreciate that" the blonde responded with a small smile of his own whilst scratching the back of his head, he briefly wondered what she would think if he told her that he might be leaving the village very soon, possibly forever.

"I'm sure that the other members of my team would like tell you as well but I didn't tell them I was coming here"

"No problem" Naruto said, "besides I already know what they're going to say anyway, Kiba would probably say some dumb retarded shit like how he is still going to become hokage before me and Shino would speak in his usual monotone voice with all those bugs living inside of him. I'm sorry to say, but that guy does creep me out a bit."

Hinata giggled saying, "Shino-kun would sulk for the rest of the year if he heard you saying that Naruto-kun"

"Yeah, well then, let's keep that between the two of us eh?" he said with a small smile leaning closer to her

She gave him a shy smile in response, god how she missed this person, his fiery determination, his mischief, and outspoken kindness.

"I missed you so much" she whispered but then quickly placed one hand on her mouth whilst blushing furiously as she realized that Naruto had heard her statement and was currently looking at her with bewilderment.

"I'm… I'm sorry" she said in panic but Naruto quickly put her mind at ease

"It's okay, I'm just a little bit surprised that's all" he said, hell not even Sakura or Kakashi-sensei said that to him.

She nodded and looked at her cup then looked back at him, "But its truth though" she said quietly putting the cup on the table and focusing fully on him.

With a shaky hand, she slowly cupped his cheek and met his eyes saying, "I'm sure all of our friends missed you Naruto-kun. We'd be really sad if you left us"

Left? What was she talking about?

Confusion marred his features for a second before it finally donned on him.

_She knows. Oh No._

With wide disbelieving eyes, the jinchurikki abruptly stood up not knowing how to react to all of this.

"You know?" he exclaimed though it was more of a statement than a question.

She nodded softly and he run his hands through his hair, "Fuck me sideways!" he swore

OH NO NO NO NO NO NO!

This was not what he ever expected. how was it even possible? Since when? Wait a minute, if Hinata knows about this then how many more people also knew? What if Tsunade also knew? This was turning into a really big mess.

"I'm the only one who knows, well as far as I'm concerned" she said seemly having read his thoughts.

He looked at her for a minute with panic before he adopted a look of silent relief.

"How did you know? When?" he asked quietly, he could practically hear his heart beating inside his chest.

"I… um, I was there when she appeared before you" she replied looking away from him.

A quick look at him confirmed to her that the jinchurikki was confused by her response and so clarified, saying; "That night, I came here to properly welcome you back to the village because our first encounter didn't go as well as I would have like." She bit her lip out of her own frustration. Oh how she hated being so weak and timid in front of him.

"Anyway, before I climbed the stairs to your apartment, I used my Byakugan to make sure that you were home and well, I saw that woman talking to you and it made to be rather uncomfortable. You face was showing some negative emotions so I used the Byakugan to read your lips and find out what you were to talking about-

"You were spying on me?" he cut her off with annoyance dripping in his tone. The hell was wrong with the people in this village?

"I'm sorry" she apologized quickly, she knew that her spying tendencies would catch up to her one day so she wasn't really surprised with his reaction.

"It's just… I've never seen that woman before and well from the looks of it, neither did you and you also seemed to be getting angry with what she was telling you. I… I wasn't trying to invade your privacy"

Well, technically it was true, even during all those times she stalked him she wasn't deliberately trying invade his privacy. There was just something about the Uzumaki that attracted her to him so much that she couldn't stay away no matter how much she tried.

Naruto merely scowled in response, he didn't know how react to all of this. On one hand he understood the urge to want to protect your friends no matter how unconventional it might seem but he also wasn't thrilled with people engaging themselves in his own private business, I mean, first Sai now this.

"I know what she said Naruto-kun and I also know what you told her" she said causing him to look away.

A couple of minutes passed in silence as the tension escalated in the small apartment.

The Hyuga princess looked at him trying to discern what he was thinking but the blonde's eyes refused to meet hers.

Finally, after what felt like hours she asked, "Are you planning to go?" causing the jinchurikki to wince.

Seeing that he wasn't going to answer, she stepped closer to him and cupped his cheek making him look at her.

"Are you Naruto-kun" she whispered her voiced sounding shaky

"I… I don't know ok" he finally responded.

He could practically see her expression turning from hopeful to one of heartbreak.

"But… what about your dream to become hokage? Your team? your friends?" she said desperately trying to convince him to stay.

"Hinata… it's not just that ok… "he wanted to say more but quickly bit his tongue.

Sensing this, the Hyuga prompted him "Tell me, talk to me Naruto-kun"

"I'm sick and tired of living like this ok, I'm sick of people looking at me like I'm some demon who was sent to ruin their precious lives. I'm sick of being made to feel like I should feel lucky that I'm breathing the same air as them. I'm sick and tired of just wanting to fit in and being hated for it. Yes, I know that if I live then I'm abandoning my dream of being hokage but you know, I've dreamt of having a family longer than I have of being hokage. I wanted to find a place where I belong, where I can call home longer than I could ever remember ok" the blond finally explained, he couldn't tell why but it felt really good to get off his chest. it felt like a great weight was being lifted off his shoulders.

Hinata kept quiet carefully absorbing what her crush was saying, if following him around all those days taught her anything; it was that these feelings were not new. She saw him countless times trying to act happy but was always miserable when alone.

She understood that, but still…

"What proof do have that things will be better if you go with her?" she asked him after a couple of minutes of silence

She didn't allow him to answer before she asked him another question, "what proof has she given you to show you that your clan still exists? She could be one of those guys hunting you down for we know"

Naruto blinked a couple of times at that, come to think of it Amina didn't really anything as proof to show that the Uzumaki clan was still alive, he didn't even ask for any. He only took her stories as face value information without even asking for a picture or anything as evidence. Hinata was actually right, without evidence Amina's stories didn't hold much weight, hell she really could be just another member of Akatsuki trying to lure him out of the village.

The jinchurikki groaned inwardly, he was finally understanding why he was often called an idiot. But still, he knew in his heart that Amina was telling the truth. Maybe it was just his naivety talking or his desperation in wanting a family so bad but he could tell that she wasn't lying to him.

"I had not thought about that" he admitted, "but still, I think… I think I want to go"

He had been wrestling with this idea all week but now that he was having this conversation with someone other than Amina, he felt like his answer was becoming clearer and clearer.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered, her voice almost broken and her eye glassy. "Please don't go"

"And why not?" he fired back almost viciously

"Because we can make this a home for you, a lot of our friends, myself included, never understood why you were so isolated from everyone else until Sakura-san told us why 1 year ago. I can't apologize enough for not befriending you all those years ago Naruto-kun, I wanted to I swear but I was too much of a coward. But if you give us another chance I swear that we'll stand with you Naruto-kun. We'll sure that you feel so alone again… please Naruto-kun"

Naruto was momentarily stunned by Hinata's plea; this was not the Hinata that he remembered. He would have expected to have this kind of conversation with either Sakura or Kakashi or even Jiraiya but not the Hyuga. Be that as it may, it was now too little too late.

"I'm sorry Hinata, but I can't stay" he said watching as tears started to flow from her eyes

"You… you promised that you would not give up until you became hokage" she said sniffing, "You said you would fight until the people acknowledged you, you also promised to fight to bring Sasuke back to the village and most of all you promised to never go back on your word. Remember that" she spoke hoping to see what the jinchurikki would do if he left which resulted in Naruto scowling at that, he obviously didn't like having his own beliefs used against him.

"Damn it, why do you even care so much anyway?!" he yelled at her in frustration

"Because I love you!" she yelled back tears still flowing

Everything seemed to stop when he heard those words, he looked blankly at her thinking that maybe, just maybe he heard her wrong.

"What… did you just say?"

"I love you" she whispered stepping closer to him, her hand on her chest almost like she was trying to mechanically stop it from beating so fast.

She looked at Naruto's shell-shocked face knowing just how crazy it must have sounded to him. This wasn't the appropriate love confession she would have wanted but right now it seemed to be her only hope.

"Since the I met you when you saved me from those bullies, I admired you Naruto-kun. You were everything I wanted to be, you are strong, confident and kind. Most of all you didn't allow people to tell who you could or couldn't be. When you yelled at the whole class that you would be hokage one day, I believed in you Naruto-kun because I knew that no matter what you would not give up until you made it." She stated unveiling all her 'hidden' feelings to him.

"I nearly…I nearly went the wrong way. For a long time; I believed I was worthless, but Naruto…you had it so much worse but kept smiling. Your… your smile it saved me, helped move me in the right direction. You have no idea just how much I wanted to tell you just how much I cared, to befriend you. Even when I was fighting against Neji-nisan during the chunin exams, I was still thinking of you, wanting you to acknowledge me. I kept fighting because I knew that's what you would have done. When you left with Jiraiya-sama, I thought about you everyday wondering when you would come back and now…"

_Now you want to leave forever._

Naruto felt like he was in a dream at that moment, he's whole world stopped as he kept replaying what she had just told him over and over in his mind. How long had he wanted to hear those words from someone, anyone really.

None of the people he was ever close to had ever said those words, not the third hokage, Iruka, team seven or Jiraiya had ever even hinted at it. And yet, here he was hearing them from someone he had never even imagined held those kind of feelings for him but then maybe I explained all those times she acted weird in his presence, he always noticed that she didn't act that way with any other boy except him but he always brushed it off as her just being weird.

But god damn it, was he really so stupid?

He placed his right hand on his heart feeling overwhelmed with all of this. First Amina now this? He felt like he wanted to cry.

Once again, the Hyuga heiress cupped his cheek stepping closer to him, "I know this is a lot to take in and I didn't mean to tell you this way but I just want you to see you're not alone anymore. Just give me one chance and I'll show you that it will get better, you can be happy here Naruto-kun. You can still achieve your dreams here, let me help you" she pleaded wrapping her arms around his waist as she silently wept.

For the first time in his entire life, Naruto could honestly admit to being speechless. He could barely wrap his head around the fact this was the soft spoken and shy Hinata that was pouring her heart out to him. He could clearly see now that he knew nothing of love, seeing her face and watching her hopeful, pleading expression just proved it further to him. He briefly wondered if this how Sakura felt when Sasuke left.

"I'm sorry Hinata" he said apologetically, "I can't stay"

"you can. You don't know what's out there. You don't know if things are as good as she makes it out to be."

"Hinata, you don't know…"

"I do…" she shot back, "I know that it hurts Naruto-kun. I know the pain, the misery, the desire to just want to fit in and I know that you don't have to abandon everyone and everything you know to get there"

"So what would you have me do then?" he asked

"Endure Naruto-kun"

she whispered as the tears continued falling, maybe she was just being selfish but she just couldn't handle the idea of Naruto leaving with a practical stranger to who knows where.

The entire week she had struggled with the idea of whether to tell her friends about what the redhead told Naruto but she convinced herself not to thinking that the blonde would refuse her request but as the week passed, she could tell that something was changing within the blonde Uzumaki. He was longer as enthusiastic as he once was about becoming hokage, he didn't spend as much time as he usually did with his friends and during all that time, she saw as he slowly warmed up to her.

she watched as he's face softened and turned hopeful as she told him countless stories of her home making each tale sound like heaven on earth and then she finally understood that she needed to talk to him.

She chose to talk to him first before even thinking of talking to any of her friends because she knew that word would undoubtedly reach lady Tsunade and Naruto would have a 'flight risk' marker placed on him.

She really beginning to wonder if she had made the right decision.

"You have to endure. We can help you, all of our friends can" He watched in silence as she broke down in front of him before her sobs filled the silent apartment. Wordlessly he tugged on her arm and pulled her into a warm embrace. He guided her head to his shoulder and lightly ran his fingers through her long hair. Naruto savored the moment taking in a deep breath, inhaling her scent of lavender before he began to untangle himself from her.

"I've endured enough…"

With that said Naruto pulled himself away from her but stopped at the soft, almost _pleading_ tug on his arm. Looking down he saw her fingers intertwined with his. Lifting his gaze to her face, he saw her tearful red eyes shining with that same emotion that he couldn't identify.

"Please." Hinata pleaded softly, "Stay." Naruto slowly shook his head at her. His hand lifted to her face to dry away her tears.

"I can't."

"Then take me with you..." She whispered.

His eyes widened a bit at her plea but he wasn't given the chance to respond she slowly raised her shaky hand and softly stroked the lines on his cheek and leaned in closer to him placing her lips on his.

Naruto didn't pull back as he felt her soft lips on his, he didn't know that this was possible but he could feel all the emotions she was trying to convey in that simple kiss. He didn't know that something as simple as a kiss could possess such overwhelming emotions and he was slowly feeling himself drowning in them and so he simply placed his hand underneath her shirt touching her caress her skin directly when he deepened the kiss.

** END CHAPTER**

**Before some of you start bitching at me, I would like to say, "NO! this is NOT, I repeat; NOT, a NaruHina fanfic. But that doesn't mean I will ignore Hinata's feelings for our favorite knucklehead.**

**I really tried to make this a good chapter, but a lot of times, I just find myself not writing out scenes as well as I would like to. It was so bad that some of them made me cringe just from reading them out.**

**I hope the last scene did come off as forced, but I really tried to make seem believable and in character (though I may have failed with Hinata's stuttering speech).**

**Anyway, tell me what you guys think.**

**SARAVAN OUT!**

**BTW, what do you guys think of a crossover game of thrones fic with Itachi in it? Only itachi, no jutsu or sharingan but just having Itachi's character and storyline infused into game of thrones. **


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